Chicago’s biggest country-music-meets-barbecue blowout just added another megawatt reason to block off your entire July. Windy City Smokeout announced that Blake Shelton will close out the 2026 festival on July 12, 2026, joining an already stacked lineup that includes nostalgic '90s acts and modern Nashville heavy hitters alike.

The five-day festival returns July 8–12, 2026, to its home outside the United Center, where the parking lots become a smoky, rowdy, star-packed sprawl that reliably sells out and has twice been named the Academy of Country Music’s Festival of the Year. This year kicks off with a Wednesday night concert headlined by Treaty Oak Revival, supported by Braxton Keith and Sterling Elza, while over 20 pitmasters from around the country prepare the slow-smoked lineup for

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